Sports professionals today increasingly have an active presence online as well as on the pitch. On Instagram alone, Cristiano Ronaldo has 606 million followers, LeBron James has 158 million, Lewis Hamilton has 34.7 million and Serena Williams has 17 million. As well as increasing the visibility of their particular sport, these online audiences provide a great platform for a sportsperson to grow their own profile and also their sponsorship opportunities. However, posting content online also brings with it some legal and reputational points for sportspeople to bear in mind:
- Sports governing body and club social media policies:
Several sports governing bodies and organisations publish social media guidelines, which encourage their constituent clubs to put in place social media policies for their members and which provide recommendations for those clubs to follow on what those policies should contain. As well as highlighting the importance of compliance with relevant defamation, copyright, privacy and data protection laws and recognising the importance of online safety, these policies usually also set out the potential consequences for the sportsperson if the policies are not followed. For example, Sport England's guidance recommends that a club's social media policy should also include consequences for non-compliance, stating that "failure by members to adhere to the club’s policies could perhaps result in disciplinary action, or even expulsion from the club in extreme cases".
Basketball England's social media policy and England Rugby's social media guidance asks its members to 'Think Before You Post', highlighting that thought should be given to whether the content of the post is appropriate for the audience and whether it complies with the existing policies within their organisation. This can include seeking permission before posting any photos of anyone, considering whether it is appropriate to 'tag' someone in a post, and other privacy and safeguarding related matters.
- Contractual and sponsorship provisions:
As part of the terms of a sponsorship deal, a sportsperson might be prohibited from posting about or endorsing a competitor brand. There may also be contractual requirements that the sportsperson adheres to certain standards of behaviour throughout the term of the deal and that they do not do anything which might negatively impact on the sponsoring brand by association. For example, it might be a provision of the sponsorship contract that the brand can terminate the deal if the sportsperson is arrested and charged with a criminal offence.
Where a post includes a statement about someone that is untrue and has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to that person's reputation, it will be considered defamatory. From a legal perspective, it can sometimes be difficult for someone to prove that a particular statement has caused serious harm to their reputation, because it will depend on the individual facts of the case, as well as specific details about the audience and its interpretation of the statement. However, if a sportsperson, or club, is particularly influential and has a significant number of online followers, it may well be easier for someone to argue that a post has reached such a large audience that there can be no question that it has caused serious reputational damage.
Whilst online social media use can raise legal issues from time to time, it can also bring significant benefits by promoting sport to a larger audience. The surge in followers of the Lionesses' team and individual players' social media accounts during the FIFA Women's World Cup this summer is testament to that. It will be interesting to see whether the men's Rugby World Cup currently taking place in France has the same impact on social media followings.
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